Minor Moves: Dustin McGowan, Jayson Nix, Josh Prince

Phillies righty Dustin McGowan has been added to the Triple-A roster at Lehigh Valley, per Director of Media Relations Matt Provence (via Twitter), meaning that he accepted his outright assignment. The club has also released infielder Jayson Nix. Over 195 plate appearances this year at the Triple-A level with the Phillies and Orioles organizations, Nix has struggled to a .162/.196/.222 slash. He has seen at least some MLB action in each of the past seven seasons, but will need to find another minor league opportunity to work his way back to the big leagues.

The Tigers have released infielder Josh Prince, James Schmehl of MLive.com reports. Prince, 27, joined the Detroit organization as a minor league free agent after spending his entire prior pro career with the Brewers. He enjoyed a cup of coffee in 2013, but has otherwise played exclusively in the minors. Prince’s primary calling card is his speed — he has 217 professional stolen bases over parts of seven seasons — and his up the middle capabilities on defense. He had scuffled to a .205/.295/.299 slash in his 132 plate appearances at the Tigers’ Double-A affiliate.

I really hope McGowan can turn things around – the guy has battled through so many injuries that a lot of guys would have hung them up over. When it looks like he finally had a role going, he falls off a cliff this year. Tough to watch.

McGowan is a good warning to those who get too excited about pitching prospects. 505 IP 91 ERA+. Peaked at the 18th best prospects in MLB (via BApre 2004) also top 100 3 other times. 2.3 WAR in 2007 was his peak never reached 1.0 WAR otherwise. All for $6.3 million (so far).